What is Destiny?
by Birdflame
Summary: Darkpaw is the daughter of a traitor and a rogue. Everyone in the Clan hates her. When she has to opportunity to make a friend, she takes it. Their relationship grows steadily. There's just one problem: he's from ThunderClan. T for violence. Read and review. No flames, please. *Adopted by xJayxx*
1. Prologue

**So I rewrote the prologue.**

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><p>A black and white tom stalked through the forest, following a ginger and white she-cat. The she-cat had no idea that he was behind her, too busy hunting a toad, not to mention he smelled like mud. She jumped, killing it with a blow. Before she could recover from it, the tom leapt at her, his claws out. He bowled over the she-cat and pinned her down, his white fangs bared. "Hello, Sunspots."<p>

"Badgerclaw! What in the name of StarClan are you doing?"

Badgerclaw smiled. "It's my turn to lead. Once you're dead, I'll go for Dovestar!" He sank his teeth deep into her throat. Her yellow eyes clouded over. He plucked his fur from her claws and began the trek back to camp.

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><p>"Badgerclaw will be the new deputy of ShadowClan."<p>

Badgerclaw's mate, Camilla, licked his ear. The Clan yowled, "Badgerclaw! Badgerclaw!"

"I humbly accept this position. I will serve you to the best of my ability." He had practiced that line enough times that he didn't burst out laughing. The Clan broke away, murmuring their congratulations as they went past.

Camilla came forward. "Badgerclaw, could I talk to you? Alone?"

Badgerclaw nodded. The two of them ducked through the bramble tunnel and padded through the forest. They emerged from the trees. The Lake was blood red from the setting sun. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"I'm expecting kits." Camilla meowed.

Pleasure tingled through Badgerclaw's fur. "Really!? How many? When are they due? You have to move into the nursery now."

"Calm down. Redpatch thinks one or two, in a moon, and no I don't."

Badgerclaw entwined his tail with hers. The couple watched the sun set, thinking about the future.

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><p>"It's my turn to lead!" Badgerclaw snarled at Dovestar, bleeding from multiple wounds. His plan to have a pack of rogues attack the camp while he killed Dovestar had failed. He glanced at the nursery, where Camilla and their unnamed kit were.<p>

Dovestar growled, "You killed Sunspots, didn't you?"

"She was weak, just like you!"

"For treason again ShadowClan, I, Dovestar, sentence you to death." Dovestar jumped down from the Branch. Larkwish and Fennelsnow held Badgerclaw down. He slashed his claws across the corner deputy's neck.

The light in the traitor's eyes started fading. "You think death will stop me? I'll be back! My revenge will be satisfied." His tail twitched and he went limp forever.

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><p><strong>So what did you think?<strong>


	2. Chapter 1

**I know the prologue wasn't all that great. I apologize. To make up for it, I decided to put the first chapter up. I don't own Warriors.**

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><p>Darkpaw sighed, watching the other apprentices practice their fighting moves from across the camp. They would never let her join in. She decided to try again. The black and white she-cat trotted over to where Berrypaw was watching her brothers play. "Could I -"<p>

"Get out of here, rogue!" Berrypaw hissed.

Treepaw let go of his brother. "Yeah, fox-heart. Go kill someone else."

Believe it or not, those were some of their kinder insults, if that was a thing. Darkpaw slunk back to her corner and resumed watching.

Darkpaw knew almost nothing of her family. She had heard her father, Badgerclaw, tried to kill Dovestar and take over the Clan, but his plan failed. Her mother, Camilla, had stayed in ShadowClan so that she could be with him. No one knew for certain if she knew about her former mate's plan, but she disappeared soon after when she went hunting by herself. Dovestar claimed she had left, but Darkpaw wasn't so sure. He had been the one to name her since Camilla never got to it.

"Darkpaw, time for training." Grayshade growled. The ShadowClan leader had gone out of his way to get Darkpaw the least tolerate, sympathetic mentor in the Clan, not to mention that Badgerclaw's plan had led to the death of her sister. Darkpaw was her first apprentice and, hopefully, her last. She always had a snarl in her voice when she was around her.

Darkpaw stepped out of her spot. "Coming."

"Don't talk back to me!"

"Sorry."

Grayshade clouted her ear, claws unsheathed. Darkpaw flinched and she felt something warm soak into her ear fur. Blood. "That ought to teach you respect. Come on." The mottled gray she-cat led the way out of camp. Darkpaw lashed her tail and hurried after her.

The training hollow was a sandy space about the size of camp. There was plenty of space. Grayshade meowed, "What did we learn last time?"

Darkpaw mewed, "We learned how to tell where something is even in the dark when we can't see it."

"Good. Today you will learn some fighting moves." Grayshade crouched down in the middle of the clearing, focusing on a primrose at the edge, and pounced. She crushed it under her weight. "Try it."

The black and white apprentice jumped, aiming at a bump under the sand. When she landed, a shock went through her and her front paws drew back, stinging. "Ow!" That bump was a buried rock.

Grayshade trotted over. "Can you walk?" Darkpaw took a step, wincing, but she nodded. "Then we can keep practicing. Again."

Darkpaw did the move again, hissing as her paws hit the ground. "I think I bruised my paws. Can we go back?"

"You can walk. You can train. Again."

And so it went like that. Eventually Darkpaw couldn't feel her forepaws anymore. They didn't hurt, but it made her less coordinated. Eventually Grayshade decided that it was best to call it quits before Darkpaw hurt herself more. Darkpaw stumbled back to camp, hoping she didn't twist a paw while doing so. Her mentor was already in the medicine clearing, explaining what happened.

". . . . and so she jumped on a rock and insisted we continue." Darkpaw flicked her ear. Grayshade often lied at how her apprentice got unexplained injuries, and then said that she insisted they didn't stop, even though that was Grayshade's doing. She didn't dare contradict her.

Redpatch nodded, dismissing the warrior. As she left, the tortoiseshell she-cat turned to Lakepaw. "Make sure she's comfortable and check her paws."

Lakepaw was Berrypaw, Treepaw, and Leopardpaw's brother. He was much nicer than his littermates, but they made sure his path and Darkpaw's didn't cross often. They didn't want their brother mingling with "treacherous scum." The mottled blue-gray tom flicked his tail to a nest. "You can rest there if you want." Darkpaw dipped her head in thanks and flopped into the dip. Lakepaw touched his nose to her pads. "Bruised. We will use cob nuts for it."

"Cob nuts you say?" Redpatch called from the herb store.

"Yes. They're just bruised." Lakepaw added, "You might want to stop jumping on rocks."

Darkpaw rolled her eyes. "It was buried under sand."

Redpatch came back with a couple of nuts. "Okay, Lakepaw, first you get the nut out of the shell. You can do that by hitting it with a rock. I've already done that. Now we chew them up and lick them onto her paws." Lakepaw licked them up and started chewing them. Judging by the faces he was making, they didn't taste very good. When they were in a slimy, brown paste, he plastered them onto Darkpaw's pads. The cool ointment soothed the sting. Redpatch meowed, "You'll have to stay here for a few days."

Darkpaw nodded and closed her eyes, her mind drifting over the day's events. Eventually it went fuzzy and faded away completely.

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><p><strong>ShadowClan:<strong>

**Leader:** Dovestar - dark gray tabby tom with green eyes

**Deputy:** Fennelsnow - golden tabby she-cat with white splotches and amber eyes

Apprentice, Berrypaw - ginger and white she-cat with blue eyes

**Medicine cat:** Redpatch - tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentice, Lakepaw - mottled blue-gray tom with green eyes

**Warriors:**

Larkwish - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes

Brightlight - white she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice, Leopardpaw - golden and black tom with yellow eyes

Mistpelt - white tom with dark blue eyes

Apprentice, Treepaw - brown tabby tom with green eyes

Leaffoot - brown tom with yellow eyes and white paws

Grayshade - mottled gray she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentice, Darkpaw - black and white she-cat with gold eyes

Willowsnow - pale brown and white tom with green eyes

Appletail - ginger and white tom with yellow eyes

Stormheart - gray tabby tom with green eyes

**Queens:**

Cardinalfeather - dark ginger she-cat with green eyes (mother of Patchkit - mottled ginger she-cat with green eyes, and Vinekit - brown tom with green eyes and a long tail

**Elders:**

Whiteface - brown tom with a white face


	3. Chapter 2

**I don't own Warriors.**

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><p>Darkpaw felt like a useless lump of fur the next few days while she recovered from her bruised paws. Redpatch didn't let her get up at all, so Lakepaw had to fetch her fresh-kill. No one visited her, not that she was surprised. Finally the tortoiseshell gave her the all clear.<p>

"As long as you don't jump on any more rocks, you should be fine." Redpatch meowed.

Darkpaw nodded and got to her paws. After not moving at all for several days, she felt weird doing it suddenly. After a little bit of stretching, she felt much better. She left the medicine clearing. For a heartbeat she hoped Grayshade was out so she could go on a patrol or something without her. She smiled when she saw her mentor was gone. She went over to where the deputy, Fennelsnow, was organizing patrols.

"Larkwish, take Mistpelt, Treepaw, and . . . " her eyes narrowed when it met Darkpaw's. "And Darkpaw on a hunting patrol."

Darkpaw drooped. _Anyone but Treepaw._ The brown tabby was already padding toward her. He went straight past her, pushing her roughly. She only barely managed to stay on her paws. When she looked to Larkwish for support, the tortoiseshell and white she-cat turned to the entrance and bounded out of camp, Mistpelt and Treepaw on her heels. Darkpaw ran after them and soon caught up with them. She didn't dare get too close to any of them. Treepaw and Mistpelt would "tease" her relentlessly, and Larkwish just wouldn't do anything.

As they approached the ThunderClan border, Larkwish turned around. "We'll split up here. Remember, don't go into the Clearing. We don't want ThunderClan to have another excuse for attacking us."

Lately ThunderClan had been tense. They were cold to ShadowClan at Gatherings and provoked skirmishes along the border every time. They had even attacked a patrol who was hunting in the Clearing - though it was ShadowClan's then - and stole it. Hollystar said that it was because the worst cats had lived in ShadowClan and they were getting justice, but who knew if that was true.

Darkpaw went along the ThunderClan border, her nose wrinkling at their stench. Suddenly something caught her eye. A squirrel was running across the clearing; ShadowClan didn't get many of those. She waited until it reached the trees before she pounced, sinking her claws into its flesh. She killed it with a slash and picked it up. _It's heavy._ She trotted back through the forest to the meeting place where everyone else was waiting. With a surge of pride, she realized that her prey was the best out of the others', but no one said anything about it. When they got back to camp, Dovestar was on his branch.

"The cats who will be going to the Gathering tonight are Fennelsnow, Larkwish, Mistpelt, Appletail, Leaffoot, Willowsnow, Grayshade, Whiteface, Leopardpaw, Lakepaw, and Darkpaw."

Darkpaw flicked her tail in excitement. _My first Gathering!_ It should be her second, but Dovestar didn't let her attend the first one. She went over to the fresh-kill pile, but Grayshade stepped in front of her. "No. You missed training while you were injured, so we have to do that before you eat."

Darkpaw was tempted to say how it was more or less Grayshade's fault for her ear, but she didn't dare. Instead she simply followed her, tail down. Grayshade stopped outside of camp. "Today is your first hunting assessment. You will hunt wherever you want today."

"Okay." Darkpaw dashed through the pine needles, trying to decide where the best place would be. _The Far Border? No. The Thunderpath? No prey would be stupid enough to go there for another moon. The abandoned Kittypet Home seems as good as any other._ She started in the direction of the place.

The abandoned Kittypet Home was once home to two kittypets. The Twolegs left and ShadowClan killed the kittypets; they had caused much trouble in the past. Now the nest was crumbling down, though Redpatch kept certain herbs alive in the garden.

Darkpaw sniffed the air. She could smell the herbs Redpatch grew, trees, lichen, wet stones, and prey. She crept in among the rubble, nose twitching. She cold scent a vole very close by. She crept up on it and rushed forward, hooking her claws around it. She crushed it head and offered up a prayer to StarClan, thanking them for the prey. She buried it and resumed hunting. By the time Grayshade appeared, she had also caught a pigeon, three frogs, and two mice. That black and white she-cat might've even detected pride in the amber depths. "We have to return now." She picked up some of the prey, Darkpaw with the rest, and the two of them trekked back to camp. The Clan looked up with hungry eyes, but didn't say anything until Darkpaw walked away with her mouse. Then they swarmed the pile like rats to a carcass.

As she finished up her prey, Berrypaw, Leopardpaw, and Treepaw went by with her pigeon. Treepaw grumbled, "Why does the murdering traitor get to go when the loyal apprentice has to stay?"

"Who knows? Maybe she brainwashed Dovestar." Leopardpaw snickered.

Berrypaw added, "Or she threatened him. I wouldn't put it past her."

Tears pricked Darkpaw's eyes, but before she could actually start crying, Dovestar called the summoning words. She went along with the group as they poured out of the camp and to the lake shore. The shining expanse of silver was broken only by the silhouette of the Island. They didn't meet any of the other Clans by the tree-bridge. She dug her claws into the wood and scurried across as fast as she could. She jumped down and made her way to the main clearing.

The other three Clans had arrived. She made her way to a group of apprentices, but one glance at her and they moved away. _My heritage must be well-known._

Darkpaw found a spot on the edge of the clearing and watched everyone. She didn't notice the tom until he meowed, "Hi."

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><p><strong>Sorry about the abrupt ending.<strong>


	4. Chapter 3

**Happy 2015, everyone.**

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><p>Darkpaw spun around to face a brown tom with white paws. "What was that for? You scared me out of my fur!"<p>

"I thought ShadowClan cats didn't get scared." His green eyes glinted with amusement. "My name's Volepaw. My mother's Hollystar."

ThunderClan. "My name is Darkpaw."

Volepaw cocked her head. "So you're the one who Dovestar was talking about at the last Gathering."

"What did he say?"

"He said that the traitor's kit was an apprentice. Hollystar said that he should've banished her, apparently you, by now. Dovestar left right after that."

"So . . . why are you talking to me right now?"

"My great-great grandfather, Firestar, was a kittypet. Blood isn't everything." Volepaw glanced at the Great Tree. "I think the Gathering is starting."

Darkpaw looked and saw four cats standing among the branches. She saw Dovestar and the black she-cat who was Hollystar. "Who are the other leaders?"

"The white she-cat is Cloudstar of RiverClan and the brown and white tabby tom is Flightstar of WindClan."

Dovestar stepped forward. "Prey has run well in ShadowClan. We regret to inform you on the death of Beepaw. He was ambushed on our territory by an unprecedented attack by ThunderClan the day after our last Gathering. It was not his time to die. Despite that, we are ready to face Leaf-fall." He went back to his place.

Cloudstar and Flightstar had similar news, although no cats had died. Then it was Hollystar's turn. Her green eyes narrowed at the ShadowClan cats. "We have one new apprentice, Firepaw." The ShadowClan cats were silent as the other Clans called the new apprentice's name. "Dovestar, our attack was not unprecedented. The Clearing has always belonged to ThunderClan. Firestar took it back because he realized it. Besides, I told you at the last Gathering to banish that wretch Darkpaw. You refused."

Darkpaw cringed, ears back. She felt Volepaw's fur brush hers comfortingly.

Dovestar growled, "You are not in charge of my Clan. Just because your father was one of the Three does not give you the right to tell me what to do."

"Your Clan is harboring a murderer!"

"ThunderClan harbored Brokenstar. Your father, Lionblaze, killed Russetfur. You're great grandfather was a kittypet. Blood is _not _everything."

"How dare you!" Hollystar whirled on Dovestar, teeth bared. Down below the only thing keeping a full-blown fight between the two Clans were RiverClan and WindClan. Darkpaw and Volepaw stayed away from it all in the ferns, trying to stay unnoticed.

Suddenly darkness swamped the clearing. Clouds had covered the moon and stars, leaving the cats in almost complete darkness. Dovestar yowled, "ShadowClan, we're leaving!" Darkpaw muttered "good bye" to Volepaw and followed her Clan.

When they were on the other side of the tree-bridge, Berrypaw stalked over, fur bristling. "You always ruin everything! Now ThunderClan will wage war simply because you exist."

Darkpaw flinched. Berrypaw raised a paw to hit her, but Fennelsnow dragged her away. "Berrypaw! You don't attack your Clanmates! For that you will have to clean the elders' den by yourself for a moon and you won't be able to go to the next Gathering."

Berrypaw ducked her head submissively. The look she gave Darkpaw was one of pure hatred. _If looks could kill. . . ._ The rest of the journey was silent.

Darkpaw didn't even stay in the clearing long enough to hear the other cats discuss the Gathering. She went straight to her nest and tried to forget this night ever happened.


	5. AN

**I am putting this story up for adoption. If anyone wants it, PM me.**


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